1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to aromatics conversion in the presence of a catalyst comprising ITQ-13.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many aromatic hydrocarbons are valuable commercial products. For example, para-xylene is a very valuable commercial product useful in the production of polyester fibers.
Aromatic compounds can be formed by converting non-aromatic compounds to aromatic compounds. An example of such a conversion is the dehydrocyclo-oligomerization of aliphatic hydrocarbons to form aromatics. This process typically uses an intermediate pore size zeolite catalyst such as ZSM-5. Another process for converting non-aromatic compounds to aromatic compounds involves reforming where C6 and higher carbon number reactants, primarily paraffins and naphthenes, are converted to aromatic compounds. This process typically uses monofunctional large pore zeolites, such as zeolites L, Y, and X or bifunctional catalysts which can comprise a metal oxide support acidified by a halogen.
Also, less valuable aromatic compounds can be converted into more valuable aromatic compounds. Examples of such processes include the methylation of toluene to form xylenes, the disproportionation of toluene to form xylenes and benzene, and the isomerization of xylene feedstock to produce a product enriched in para-xylene. These processes typically use a catalyst comprising an intermediate pore size zeolite catalyst such as ZSM-5.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/866,907, filed May 29, 2001, describes a synthetic porous crystalline material, ITQ-13, which is a single crystalline phase material having a unique 3-dimensional channel system comprising three sets of channels, two defined by 10-membered rings of tetrahedrally coordinated atoms and the third by 9-membered rings of tetrahedrally coordinated atoms. Co-pending U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/362,100, filed Mar. 5, 2002, describes a process for cracking hydrocarbons using a catalyst comprising ITQ-13.